


Don’t Mess With The Bull, You’ll Get The Horns

by persongoingslow



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Cuddling, F/M, M/M, beer pong except it’s punch pong for obvious reasons, celebration party, cyrus wears tj’s hoodie, falling asleep on a loveseat, martinelli's sparkling cider, mechanical bull, smitten cyrus, smitten tj, they ADORE each other okay, they hold hands a lot and never question it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-07-06 20:05:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15893172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persongoingslow/pseuds/persongoingslow
Summary: If it hadn’t been for Jonah’s insistence on having a surprise everyone would love, Cyrus would have left the party by now. Okay maybe Cyrus was lying just a bit, but that was only information for himself to know. Andi and especially Buffy didn’t need to know he had gotten Jonah’s permission to invite TJ.





	Don’t Mess With The Bull, You’ll Get The Horns

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally supposed to be 1k worth of humor, but I got carried away and ended up writing 4k worth of, this. enjoy :)
> 
> i want to thank my wonderful beta’s, natalia (@tyrusmuffin on twitter) and molly (@tj_cyrus on twitter) for looking this fic over and editing!

It had been a long night. Well it had just been thirty minutes, but for Cyrus it felt like three hours. When Jonah had announced he was going to have a party to celebrate the ultimate frisbee team’s qualification into regionals, he was expecting an ambient in which him, Buffy, and Andi would be dancing together in their classic circle and partying together like they usually did.

Instead Andi and Buffy went off with Jonah and the rest of the frisbee team to play fruit punch pong. He had no interest in getting his new white button up shirt stained so early into the party, especially because he had no interest being there.

Cyrus sighed as he looked around Jonah’s backyard hoping to spot a familiar face so he could at least have someone to talk to. From his position, by the backyard island, eating chips with salsa, he caught a glimpse of who he believed was Marty. He stared at him for a while hoping he would notice him so he could approach him, but the other boy seemed too preoccupied watching the commotion at the ping pong table.

If it hadn’t been for Jonah’s insistence on having a surprise everyone would love, Cyrus would have left the party by now. Okay maybe Cyrus was lying just a bit, but that was only information for himself to know. Andi and especially Buffy didn’t need to know he had gotten Jonah’s permission to invite TJ.

Cyrus had been a nervous wreck two days ago when he had asked TJ if he would like to come to the party on Saturday after getting the, “dude that’s docious, go for it.” from Jonah.

-

They were at the swing set, TJ had agreed to meet him there after basketball practice and Cyrus knew TJ was probably tired. He could have gone to ask him at the gym instead of making him come meet him at the park, except that Cyrus wasn’t used to talking to TJ in front of his teammates. They made him nervous. Everytime he talked to TJ with his teammate’s around, they all always had this expression on their faces, like they knew something he didn’t.

So Cyrus had convinced TJ to meet him at the park with the promise of bringing him a turkey and cheese sandwich, his favorite.

The hard part was never getting TJ to meet with him; he always seemed to be free whenever Cyrus needed or wanted someone to be with. The hard part of it all was having TJ Kippen, captain of the basketball team, in his basketball uniform with disheveled hair and rose-toned cheeks smiling at Cyrus with a smile he only ever saw TJ give to him.

He was happy Cyrus actually remembered what he liked in his sandwiches, which made Cyrus’ heart swell at thought of someone _finally_ appreciating his efforts to remember the little details that others usually don’t bother with.

As TJ ate away, Cyrus let out an “umm” that caught TJ’s attention. TJ raised an eyebrow at Cyrus, letting him know he was listening and that he was free to spill whatever he had on his mind.

So Cyrus blurted out, “With me will party go you.” Cyrus instantly felt his face getting warm as he groaned in embarrassment, but he recovered quickly as he heard TJ go from laughing to choking on the bite of sandwich he had been chewing on.

Cyrus moved fast and began to pat at TJ’s back, begging the universe that TJ wouldn’t choke. How would he ever explain that him failing at asking the basketball star to a party was his cause of death without sounding like a complete fool?

Five coughs and a Cyrus on the brink of tears later, TJ recovered and reached for his water bottle. Cyrus felt terrible. Not only had he made a fool of himself, but he had probably scared TJ off, not that he would have even agreed to go. The party would be filled with people who were the complete opposite of the people TJ normally hung out with. It was dumb of Cyrus to have even brought it up.

Cyrus gathered his things to leave with a solemn face and not another word to TJ. Two steps into his exit walk, he felt a tug on his sleeve which made him freeze and close his eyes as he mentally and emotionally prepared himself to hear TJ tell him that he hated him and never wanted to speak to him again.

What he heard instead was, “Cyrus are you okay? is something wrong, what happened?” Cyrus didn’t reply and instead squeezed his eyes tighter until he started to see colors, shapes and swirls behind his eyelids. If TJ hadn’t turned him around by the shoulders, Cyrus just knew he would have been able to make himself disappear into thin air.

TJ let out a deep breath repeating himself and this time with his eyes still closed Cyrus replied, “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I even asked. You wouldn’t want to go to a lame party, I’m sorry”. TJ placed his hands on Cyrus’s shoulders once again and gave him a firm shake before saying, “Cyrus. I’d love to go, just tell me when and where and I’ll for sure be there if I get permission.” Cyrus finally opened his eyes, looking up at TJ, they both smiled at each other for a long while and Cyrus felt instant relief wash over him, calming him down.

-

So, waiting to see if TJ had gotten permission to come to the party was the real reason Cyrus hadn’t left yet. He was anxious at the thought of being able to hang out with him around others, specifically Buffy. He hoped she wouldn’t mind or press too much about why he invited TJ, but Cyrus knew she probably would. He didn’t feel like having this conversation today though, he still had to gather his thoughts about what type of feelings he had for TJ.

Cyrus was brought out of his thoughts by Jonah’s voice, announcing through a microphone that the surprise of the night had arrived. Cyrus snapped his neck from left to right looking for TJ.

Buffy noticed his frantic behavior and approached him saying, “Cyrus are you okay? You know you don’t have to get onto the bull if you don’t want to.” Cyrus was confused. “Bull? What bull? THERE’S A REAL, LIVE BULL HERE?!” he shrieked.

“No! Cyrus, calm down it’s just a mechanical bull. Jonah thought it would be fun to have one and the rental company just arrived,” Buffy explained. Once Cyrus processed what she had just said, he took a deep breath and turned over to Buffy. “Oh. Oh that’s- that’s nice.” he nervously smiled to which Buffy laughed at and then excused herself claiming she had an unbeatable record to go set.

Cyrus needed a drink. A drink of Martinelli’s sparkling apple cider that was. He headed over to the coolers where the cider was stored and not only did he almost freeze his arm off trying to reach to the bottom of the cooler, he was now struggling to get the bottle opened. Cyrus was not about to yell, except he ended up doing exactly that after a voice behind his ear saying “Need a hand underdog?” nearly startled him to death.

Guess who it was?

The bottle slipped from Cyrus’ grip as soon as he saw TJ. He took in his maroon hoodie and how it brought out the green in his eyes and suited him so nicely. Cyrus only remembers that one moment he had been staring at TJ in awe and the next, he was in shock looking at their tangled hands after they both had reached to catch the bottle so it wouldn’t have fallen on his foot.

They both stood there holding the bottle of cider in between their hands. Cyrus couldn’t understand why neither one was letting go. Well actually, he knew why he wasn’t letting go. He liked the warmth of TJ’s hands radiating onto his cold ones, the way the butterflies in his stomach wouldn’t settle down, but he especially liked the fact that TJ hadn’t let go and if the other boy wouldn’t let go, why should he?

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Cyrus and TJ were snapped out of their moment by Marty who was loudly exclaiming, “Cyrus! Come to the bull please! Gus just beat Buffy’s record for longest time on the bull and she’s got this expression on her face that got everyone scared man, she’s ready to go on the bull again!” Cyrus didn’t exactly understand the issue with that, but if Marty found it absolutely necessary to come search for him, then it must have been important.

By then, TJ and him had untangled their hands and he saw the sparkling cider abandoned on-top of the cooler, he frowned and hoped it would still be there later. Marty had already taken off after Cyrus let him know he’d be there in a second. Cyrus wanted to ask TJ if they could talk later, but he was pleasantly surprised when TJ grabbed his hand and said, “C’mon let’s go see what’s going on with Buffy.”

Cyrus let himself be led by TJ as they walked up to where the mechanical bull was set up. He spotted Andi and Buffy, pushing through people to get to them. When he reached them, he heard Andi pleading, “Buffy, don’t do it you’ll get sick! You almost threw up last time. Gus only managed to beat your time because his hand got stuck on the rein, everyone knows he wouldn’t have lasted!” Buffy didn’t look satisfied with Andi’s claim, but she was hesitating and Cyrus knew she just needed a little push to drop it and not go on the bull again.

He didn’t know what the right words to tell her were. He tried to think fast, but TJ beat him to it as he told Buffy, “Hey let me give it a try, if Gus got the the highest time because he was stuck, then it doesn’t count. I bet I can beat your time fair and square.” Buffy squinted at him and replied, “Oh really? I’d like to see you try, Kippen.”

Right now Cyrus was both shocked and nervous. Shocked because TJ had really just taken matters into his own hands, to help calm down Buffy to make sure she wouldn’t get on the bull again. But he was nervous because, what if TJ beat her time? TJ pulled Cyrus aside and told him “Hey don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. I’ll leave my pride aside and make sure I don’t beat her time,” giving Cyrus a small smile to which he returned. If Andi and Buffy noticed how strange they were acting, they must’ve decided not to mention it knowing Cyrus would tell them when he was ready.

As TJ prepared to get on the bull, Cyrus suddenly got worried for his well being. What if TJ also got stuck, what if instead of beating Buffy’s time he hurt himself instead? Or worse! What if he did beat Buffy’s time and then Buffy went after him not before telling Cyrus he must choose between TJ or her again? Cyrus wouldn’t be able to choose between the two this time.

He heard the loud cheers of the crowd and turned to TJ and saw that he was already looking at him. TJ gave him a quick wink before the man controlling the mechanical bull told them to stand back.

TJ was on the bull for five minutes and fifty-five seconds. Buffy had been on for six minutes exactly, while Gus’ time had been six minutes and two seconds. Cyrus couldn’t believe Buffy was mad over a two second difference, but he didn’t reprimand Buffy, he knew better.

After TJ no longer felt like his arms were going to fall off, he told Cyrus, “Hey underdog, why don’t you take a turn on the bull?” Cyrus could hear gasps coming from both Andi and Buffy, and when he turned to them he noticed Buffy was about to yell at TJ. Cyrus panicked, he didn’t want Buffy to be mad at TJ so he blurted out a nervous, “Sure! How bad could it be?” This left Andi and Buffy shocked with their mouths hanging open and left TJ surprised with a huge, adorable smile on his face that caused Cyrus’s heart to beat a hundred times faster.

It wasn’t until after TJ helped Cyrus get on the bull and started leaving from his side that Cyrus realized the situation he had just put himself in. He wanted to call it off and say, “This was a bad idea! I don’t want to do it anymore!” but he couldn’t get the words out and he started to feel the bull rock back and forth. All he could do now was close his eyes, hope for the best and pray this would end soon.

Cyrus had no idea how long he had been on the bull for, but it felt like an eternity. He could hear TJ cheering him on which made him open his eyes so he could see him, but that was a big mistake. The bull suddenly tipped all the way forward scaring him immensely and then it leaned all the way back. He felt his palms beginning to sweat as he was losing control of the reins. The bull leaned all the way back before it leaned all the way forward again and the next lean back was the most forceful of them all. It caused Cyrus to fly off the bull.

He closed his eyes, yelling as he tried to brace himself for the fall, but what he felt instead was two arms around him that had… caught him? Cyrus opened his eyes and saw that it was TJ whom had caught him. Cyrus had just gotten flung from a mechanical bull and TJ Kippen had caught him in midair. How did this even happen? Cyrus could not believe this was happening.

Cyrus could still hear people cheering for him, but he was so entranced by the feeling of TJ holding him that he paid them no mind. He also saw Andi and Buffy from the corner of his eye with shocked expressions, but he noted Buffy didn’t look mad, so that was a relief to him.

  
TJ had carried him to a pair of chairs that had been placed in an unoccupied area of the yard, he helped Cyrus sit down before saying, “Cyrus, I didn’t think the bull would launch you, but I’m so glad I caught you. I don’t know what I would have done if you had gotten hurt because of me. I hope you’re not mad at me.”

Cyrus’ mind was fuzzy. He felt dizzy, but he didn’t know whether it was from the spins on the bull or from inhaling the smell of TJ’s cologne when he was carrying him and his face was pressed against his chest. Yet somehow he managed to reply, “TJ, it wasn’t your fault. I voluntarily decided to go on after your suggestion. Thank you for catching me. So how long was I on that thing for?” With a big smile TJ replied, “six minutes and fifty-four seconds, this calls for a celebration. Hold on while I go get that apple cider we left behind.”

As he watched TJ retreat in the direction of the coolers, Buffy had approached Cyrus. She was being closely followed by Marty, but he kept his distance knowing that Buffy wanted to talk to Cyrus privately, “Hey Cyrus, I can’t believe the person I had to worry about beating my time was you the whole time!” she jokingly said. Cyrus gave her the widest smile and stood up to give her a hug, whispering in her ear, “I’m coming for all your records now so you better watch out. I’m also so glad to see you and Marty are speaking again.” To that Buffy replied, “Me too, I missed him. Do you and TJ want to join us for some punch pong? Two versus two? Winner gets…uhh…”

“The winning team gets the last bottle of Martinelli’s sparkling cider!” TJ announced. “Okay, Deal,” Buffy relayed.

Cyrus turned to face TJ and gave him a stern look, he was going for a menacing expression, but obviously had failed since TJ told him, “don’t give me that look underdog, you look like a cute, mad puppy that’s about to _try_  to attack me.” TJ had just called him _cute_! Cyrus still couldn’t believe everything that had happened today.

-

Back at the punch pong table, they were tied and Cyrus’ shirt was ruined with red stains, but at this point, he didn’t care. He was having so much fun. TJ hugged him after every attempt Cyrus made whether he made a shot or not, Buffy and Marty kept laughing and smiling at each other and Andi and Jonah were their biggest fans, cheering for both teams.

There was only one cup of punch that hadn’t been ponged remaining and it was Cyrus’ turn. Beating Buffy’s time had given him a yearning for winning, so he got into position and aimed.

Cyrus felt all the air being squeezed out of his lungs. TJ had lifted him into a tight hug, spinning them together and yelling, “We won! We won Cyrus! You did it, we did it!” They really did do it, Cyrus laughed from joy and proceeded to hug TJ back. He was so relieved the apple cider would be theirs, he had been wanting a drink of it all night.

It turned out Cyrus would still have to wait a while before he could finally drink some apple cider. They couldn’t get the bottle open after trying for the last fifteen minutes and until Jonah saw them struggling, letting them know they’d need a corkscrew to get the bottle opened. They stood there expectantly staring at Jonah causing Jonah to nervously laugh while saying, “Why are you guys staring at me like that?” To which TJ replied, “Where’s the corkscrew?”

Cyrus was getting impatient so when Jonah said it should be in one of the kitchen drawers and that they could go look for it, he didn’t waste any time as he took the bottle of cider from TJ and grabbed his hand so they could run to the Beck’s kitchen and begin their search.

-

  
Twenty five minutes and a turned upside kitchen later, Cyrus had just about had it. He had resigned to the possibility of getting a taste of Martinelli’s sparkling cider, it wasn’t a big deal anymore. He wasn’t mad or upset that he wouldn’t be able to take a sip of some of the fanciest and most expensive apple ciders, he wasn’t, except that he was. TJ noticed.

TJ, the poor guy, had to first handedly witness an upset Cyrus, but not once did he complain or think Cyrus was overreacting. Instead he kept reassuring Cyrus they’d figure out a way to open the bottle saying, “Listen, I’m going to open that bottle of sparkling cider even if it’s the last thing I do, I don’t care if it takes the whole night.”

Cyrus could cry. He didn’t understand why he was acting out of character, this wasn’t like him. When he apologized to TJ and told him it was okay and that he didn’t have to worry, he could survive without the cider, TJ wasn’t having it. If Cyrus wanted cider, he would make sure he got him some cider.

It was nearing midnight and half of the guests had left already. TJ and Cyrus were sprawled on the Beck’s loveseat, resting from having cleaned up the mess they made of the kitchen. They were staring at TJ’s phone, he had googled ways to open a bottle without a corkscrew.

They weren’t worried about time, they all had called their parents to ask for permission to stay over at Jonah’s after Jonah had offered that the GHC, himself, Marty and TJ stay over for a sleepover.

They had watched well over five videos and read at least six articles, each and all requiring tools they had no access to. By now the two boys were just passing time, enjoying each others company and doing absolutely nothing. That was until a tired looking Andi had walked into the living room announcing everyone else had left and if they could come help clean up outside.

As they were stacking chairs, Jonah had asked them if they managed to work the corkscrew well because the handle was a bit loose. Cyrus dropped the chair he had been holding as TJ walked up next to his side so they were both facing Jonah before asking him, “What do you mean? We couldn’t find it so we never got the bottle opened.” Jonah gave them a confused look and replied, “Why didn’t you guys say anything?”

He turned around and walked towards the island where they could faintly see him grab something off the counter. As he walked back, both TJ and Cyrus saw the damn corkscrew in his palm and gasped turning to look at each other before looking back at Jonah. Cyrus was about to attack Jonah had it not been for TJ who knew him all to well and was able to reach out and stop him just in time.

TJ pushed him back into his chest and whispered in his ear, “Calm down underdog, listen to what I’m about to say… I’m going to let you go and you’re going to take the corkscrew away from Jonah while I go get the sparkling cider from the cooler, but we just have one minute to do it before we both run back into the kitchen and close the glass doors, locking everyone outside, got it?” Cyrus nodded and at the count of three they both took off.

Once safe in the vicinity of the kitchen and away from evil Jonah, TJ and Cyrus were finally about to drink some cider. Cyrus had prepared their champagne glasses, fit for the occasion, while TJ screwed the corkscrew onto the cork and then handed it over to Cyrus so he could have the pleasure of opening his dear sparkling cider.

As Cyrus finished twisting the corkscrew, he was picturing TJ and himself clinking their glasses before taking a sip. So it was a complete surprise when the cork popped off startling him and causing him to spill more than half of the cider on himself. Cyrus couldn’t catch a break.

He could here Jonah, Andi, Buffy, Marty and even TJ laughing at him which made him groan, he was tired of today and just wanted the night to be over. TJ had approached him taking the bottle from his hands and placing it on the counter before he grabbed his hand and walked him to the bathroom where he searched for a towel so Cyrus could dry off. When he found one, he smiled at Cyrus telling him to dry off and meet him in the living room where he would be waiting for him with their glasses of cider.

Before he left, he stared at Cyrus’ damp shirt and two seconds later he was taking off his hoodie and handing it over to Cyrus, “Here so you can have something dry to wear and not have to spend the rest of the night wet or shirtless.” Cyrus was about to protest and tell him he didn’t have to and that Jonah probably had a shirt he could borrow instead, but TJ had already turned his back to him and was walking away shouting over his shoulder, “What was that!? Sorry I can’t hear you!! Hurry up before I drink all the remaining cider!!!”

When Cyrus entered the living room, a movie was playing on the TV and Andi, Jonah, Buffy and Marty were laying down on the floor on the makeshift beds they had made. Cyrus looked over at the loveseat and saw TJ was sat there with a champagne glass in each hand, Cyrus carefully walked over his friends’ feet, making his way over to TJ.

When he took a seat instead of greeting him TJ said through a smirk, “Nice hoodie, it looks good on you, but it does looks awfully familiar.” Cyrus was glad the lights were off, he was blushing so hard he could swear his cheeks matched the maroon of the hoodie he was wearing.

Before replying, he reached over to take one of the glasses TJ was holding and scooted over, closer to him before whispering to him and hiding his face behind the glass, “Thanks, this really nice and tall basketball guy gave it to me, might end up keeping it if he gets on my nerves.” TJ chuckled in response and what he did next, not only startled Cyrus, but it made him smile so hard his cheeks hurt.

He put his arm around Cyrus and pulled him in closer towards his chest so that they were properly cuddling. Cyrus had a hundred and one questions running through his mind in that moment, but he decided to worry about them come tomorrow. He made himself comfortable in between TJ’s arms after they had finished their cider and put their champagne glasses on the coffee table, he couldn’t believe this was really happening.

-

Buffy woke up around two a.m. needing to use the restroom, she was regretting the thirty rounds of punch pong she had played in order to maintain her winning streak. As she made her way back to her makeshift bed, carefully and quietly to not wake up her friends, she gave a glance towards the loveseat where she knew Cyrus and TJ had decided to sit at during the movie.

What she saw took her by surprise and warmed her heart. Cyrus was hugging TJ’s middle while TJ had his arm wrapped around Cyrus and his head was also resting on Cyrus. They looked so at peace, adorable and happy. She just had to capture this moment, it wasn’t everyday a loveseat was fulfilling its name, so she got her phone from the coffee table and snapped a picture. She winced as the flash went off, hoping she didn’t wake them or anyone else up.

When she saw no one had been bothered, she took ten more pictures. Before she went back to sleep, she made sure to send them all to both TJ and Cyrus so they’d have a nice reminder of the party the following day.

 

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first fic, so i would love to read everyone’s honest opinions about it if you choose to leave some feedback! 
> 
> come talk to me/with me about tyrus on:
> 
> twitter: @persongoingslow  
> tumblr: persongoingsiow  
> instagram: @persongoingslow 
> 
> :)


End file.
